How we cite our quotes: (Name of Play, Act #)
Quote #1
LOUISA: SSShh! Someone's comin' out. Let's get back here! (they crowd to the rear of the bench by the lilac clump and peer through the leaves as the front door is opened and Christine Mannon comes out to the edge of the portico to the top of the steps. […She] comes down the steps and walks off toward the flower garden, passing behind the lilac clump without having noticed Ames and the women. (Homecoming, Act 1)
In this scene, the family groundskeeper brings a bunch of his friends to look at the fancy Mannon house where he works. Right off the bat, O'Neill's stage directions let us know that this family may be rich and important in town, but they're isolated. All you can do is stare at them from a distance. Except for the groundskeeper, and Hazel and Peter, no one outside the family has any interactions with them throughout the play. They're a pretty insular bunch, wrapped up in their own dramas and pretty oblivious of anything else. The image of Christine gazing off in the distance while the townspeople gape drives that home without O'Neill having to write a word of dialogue.
Quote #2
SETH: Ain't you noticed this Brant reminds you of someone in looks?
LAVINIA: Yes. I have—ever since I first saw him—but I've never been able to place who—who do you mean?
SETH: Your Paw, ain't it, Vinnie?
LAVINIA: Father? No, it can't be. Yes! He does—something about his face—that must be why I've had that strange feeling I've known him before—why I've felt—Oh! I won't believe it! You must be mistaken, Seth! That would be too—
SETH: He ain't only like your Paw. He's like Orin, too. And all the Mannons I've known.
LAVINIA: But why—why should he—?
SETH: Most speshully he calls to mind your Grandpaw's brother David. How much do you know about David Mannon, Vinnie? I know his name's never been allowed to be spoke among Mannons since the day he left—but you've likely heard gossip, ain't you—even if it all happened before you were born. (Homecoming, Act 1)
Lavinia admitting that Brant reminds her of her father and her brother make the possibility that she might have had a crush on him extra creepy. Even though Seth's talking about looks, we're meant to think that there are other ways in which Brant's a whole lot like those scheming Mannons.
Quote #3
BRANT: […] My only shame is my dirty Mannon blood. (Homecoming, Act 1)
Brant hates his Mannon parentage because he's convinced that certain things run in that family, like being cowardly, greedy, and evil. This idea's found everywhere in the plays; if you're a Mannon, you're going to possess certain characteristics whether or not you think you do. O'Neill realized that some pretty important personal qualities could be handed down through the generations. Do you think it's our families' DNA or the examples they set for us? Maybe their DNA affects the examples they set? Anyway, Brant thinks it's impossible for a Mannon by blood to be a decent human being.